Have you ever had a DIY disaster?

Engineering requires a mathematically astute personality. There’s a similar issue with STEM subjects and the performance of boys in education has been a worrying aspect of 21st Education in general. Boys have been largely out-performed by girls since the mid ’80s, and no one’s entirely sure why.

As far as DIY goes, I’m not sure that formal education is much of a benefit. We tend to pick up skills by trial and error, by working together and by discussion of problems and achievements with others. Much of what I have learned has been from three civil servants, including my late father, who were extremely practical.

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One skill where formal education helped me (local nightschool) was in bricklaying. First was the logical order of build – set up stepped corners first, very carefully with the level and plumb – before infilling. Second was to use a mortar of creamy consistency – more fluid than I would have tried – and place the brick with as little meddling as possible against the string line. Let the mortar that squidges out of the joints firm up before attempting to neaten it; then cut it off with the trowel and shape and smooth the joint. This avoids staining the brick surface with wet mortar.

I expect plastering would also require tuition, something I have never attempted other than patching.

From the Economist
“Why are girls performing better at school than their male classmates?

Third, peer pressure plays a role. A lot of boys decide early on that they are just too cool for school which means they’re more likely to be rowdy in class. Teachers mark them down for this. In anonymous tests, boys perform better. In fact, the gender gap in reading drops by a third when teachers don’t know the gender of the pupil they are marking.”

More on topic:
“With new research out (April 2014) it states 60% of women say they are more likely to be carrying out home improvements than their partners.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2609369/Sisters-doing-Now-60-women-say-theyre-charge-DIY-mens-practical-skills-decline.html so it must be true.

The Economist article is just rather meaningless words, and gives no real insights as to why this is all happening. We do know boys don’t embrace delayed gratification, which girls seem to be able to, but we don’t know why, or why boys don’t read as well as girls, or why boys don’t spend more time on homework, or why girls prefer detailed work.

A good example of words as opposed to meaning is this sentence: “A lot of boys decide early on that they are just too cool for school which means they’re more likely to be rowdy in class”, which really takes the biscuit for meaningless and unsubstantiated drivel.

It’s true boys are more physically inclined than girls, and so making them sit quietly when thousands of years of evolution are telling them to do precisely the opposite could be a factor in poor class discipline.

But we do need to address some of the other factors and, while we’re at it, examine why those boys who do do well often excel over girls in examinations. But the short answer is that we don’t know for sure why this has been happening for around 40 years, or how to change it, a[art from the obvious one of making boys enjoy knowledge. And that’s down to parents, whose influence during the first five years of life exceeds all others.

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That’s not the point, Duncan. The issue is we don’t know why the performance of boys in the education system has declined in relation to that of girls over a 40 year period. There are many ideas and numerous opinions, of course, but we don’t fully understand why it’s happened. And I don’t know why you quote ‘mystery to me; I never said there was a mystery. You’re the only one who’s used the word, in fact.

Finland routinely tops rankings of global education systems and is famous for having no banding systems — all pupils, regardless of ability, are taught in the same classes. As a result, the gap between the weakest and the strongest pupils is the smallest in the world. Finnish schools also give relatively little homework and have only one mandatory test at age 16.*1

But throughout the world females are routinely disadvantaged in education, many being excluded from it completely. However, that’s changing, and although numerous studies show the positive effects that female teachers can have on girls’ learning, world-wide boys are leaving education earlier than girls.*2

It’s far from a simple picture, but the UK and US are nowhere near the top in the World education rankings.

*1 Independent.
*2 UNESCO eAtlas of gender Equality

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I’m not at all clear who we might regard as the “greatest minds in this country“.
What evidence do you have to support the assertion that “female teachers just aren’t willing to either accept nor understand the male mentality”. On the latter point, the way differences between sexes is heading, I’d have thought there was more chance now of cross-understanding than there has ever been.

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…and in answer to your first questions, Duncan, (How come all this “we dont know ” started up in recent decades when this wasn’t an issue in the past) the fact is that it’s always been an issue. And your making wild assertions you cannot substantiate simply devalues your argument.

duncan, there is a difference between personal experience, and a generalisation. I was not challenging what you went through but extending that experience to everyone.

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It’s utterly wrong on the two main points you’re making. Apprenticeships for the less-academically inclined started to become a thing of the past in the ’80s; they were almost non-existent by the end of that decade, and it had nothing to do with your female fixation, but rather the economic policies under the Thatcher regime. Even when they were freely available the competition to actually get a decent one was fierce, so young men could not always get an apprenticeship.

[Hi Ian, your comment has been edited. This is because the comment a) we’ve edited the comment you’re replying to so the context has been lost, b) we need to be careful when making reference to mental health issues. https://conversation.which.co.uk/commenting-guidelines/. Thanks, mods.]

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That Readers’ Digest loose leaf book was a Godsend when I first got married. I was pretty much ok, but it was great to know that was on the bookshelf – wedding present from a thoughtful father.

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It is strange when every useful but taboo word I ever learned is now broadcast on radio and tv, printed by the press, published in books, and yet we have some stupid censoring system living in the past and that is not intelligent enough to learn the meanings of words, particularly in context. It all seems to be a bit of a c**k eyed world these days,

There are ‘reserved words’ that have been selected to be asterisked out by a person in Which?; I suspect ‘s c r e w i n g’ is one such but in fact,given that some of us are more than happy to report any deviant posts, I would say that most of those sorts of terms should be removed from the reserved list.

I don’t know if thread inserts are available for small bolts, but surely the easiest solution is to tap a new thread and use a larger bolt, assuming that there is enough metal. A DIY disaster then becomes an effective repair.

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That’s why I said ‘assuming there is enough metal’. I appreciate the problem you mention and that’s why it’s so important to avoid stripping threads.

A larger screw or bolt might not suit the attachment. We used Helicoil inserts to provide a thread in unsuitable materials but these require the right kit. Not the sort of thing a diyer would have. Maybe best to take it to a garage or local engineer for them to fix. It is always a challenge to fix things yourself but sometimes best to admit defeat.

I’ve not encountered a problem so far and like my father I do not like admitting defeat. I don’t have any Helicoils or equivalent but I know an agricultural engineer who has thread inserts and the taps needed and is happy to lend me tools and offer advice. I have given him advice and help with other things.

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One of the reasons we have to do repairs is because manufacturers have used inappropriate materials, as with your belt buckles. My expensive laser printer would print a few pages but would jam on longer print runs because the rubber rollers had deteriorated as a result of heat from the fuser unit. I made silicone rubber rollers and this cured the problem. Some of my DIY repairs have involved replacing broken plastic parts with metal. One of the most useful techniques I have learned is how to silver solder. For me, the challenge of doing repairs is the most enjoyable type of DIY.

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Radiator bleed screws are not captive, in my experience, but do not need undoing much for them to release air (and water). It is important to locate a radiator, or arrange furniture, to get access to bleed it, and to be able to comfortably hold a container at the outlet to catch the escaping hot water.

It is always sensible, I would suggest, to have a valve at each end of the radiator so it can be isolated – for replacement if it leaks or for removal for flushing if it gets a little clogged. Radiators, or at least their valves, may be in places that are not quickly accessible and it may not be immediately obvious how to close the lockshield. Doing these jobs does require a basic understanding.

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Malcolm – I’m aware of the precautions and have both fitted and replaced lockshield valves. The problem arose because the pump had to be switched off, otherwise opening the bleed valve would allow more air to enter, as Duncan has explained. My father and I knew this but my mother just assumed that she had not loosened the valve enough. I don’t know how common this problem is but it could be avoided by better design – a captive bleed screw.

With some radiators it is possible to fit an automatic bleed valve. Air can pass through a dry felt pad but when this gets wet the surface tension of water prevents leakage. I used to have one on my hall radiator – the only one that ever needed attention – and it worked very well.

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WD40 and similar products are great for removing rusted screws and may other things that need to be released, but they evaporate and it’s necessary to use oil or grease to ensure that the problem does not happen again.

If radiators have a cold area in the middle at the bottom this is sure sign of a build-up of iron oxide sludge, resulting from serious corrosion of the steel. Corrosion inhibitors are very good at preventing this happening and can avoid problems including radiator leakage. It is essential to replace the inhibitor if the system is drained to carry out work.

One of my hated DIY jobs was applying creosote on garden fences. I am not surprised that it is no longer sold to the public because it’s a cocktail of hazardous chemicals. Most of the fence treatments seem to be no more than paint and offer no protection against growth algae or rot. Presumably the best bet is to buy pressure-treated timber and use fence treatment if you want to change the colour.

Another tip on the turning handle…. find a screwdriver that fits corner-to-corner in the square drive of such latches. If the problem occurs in future, take out the square drive and temporarily insert the screwdriver in the square hole. This can usefully overcome even worn locks to get you out of trouble – as most latches are two-way (but the pull-down handles only get used one way).

I presume that’s why flat-bladed screwdrivers with tapered ends (cabinetmaker’s?) were invented.

The problem was I had painted over the shed door knob plus the two screws on each side some time ago when I repainted the shed and couldn’t shift the remaining screw with an ordinary screwdriver. When I finally managed to open the door I was able to remove the inside knob and gain access to the latch and its component parts.

I will try to remember to replace the WD40 with machine oil, thanks Wavechange.

A tip for wrought iron bird feeders that are beginning to look a bit jaded and rusty around the wing screws is to first remove the food and water dishes and rub it down with WD40 sprayed onto a cloth or a piece of kitchen paper. I have recently treated mine and it looks brand new again.

I guess we have all struggled with painted screws. Pozidrive screws may be easier to use than slotted ones, but not when you have to remove ones that have been painted.

WD40 and similar products have many uses you might not think of, as does Brasso and other polishes.

I just tie my bird feeders to a lilac tree, but the metal ones are going rusty. I’m not keen to spray them with anything that could harm the birds. The plastic feeder has other problems. I would like to find stainless steel feeders that won’t go rusty and will last a few years.

https://conversation.which.co.uk/home-energy/diy-jobs-abandoned-home/#comment-1530493

As far as I know cabinet screwdrivers do not necessarily have tapered ends. Those I have possess oval wood handles that make turning easier. Nice tools to use.

OK, a flared screwdriver, but I’ve often heard them referred to as cabinetmakers screwdrivers.

I’ll go for the ones without tapered ends, especially since I prefer Pozidrive screws.

Are you speaking from experience, Roger? 🙂 It’s worth making sure that the plunger moves easily because if it sticks in the radiator will stay cold or not get very warm. Turning TRVs from maximum to minimum settings occasionally may prevent them becoming stuck.

🙂 Yes experience of providing a penny to one who had the problem who was using a decent book to hold the plunger in with his posterior on the book! Fortunately the carpet had been stripped and the floor was tounge and groove over devegetated earth – I whipped up a board and swept the few gallons away before anything of note was absorbed anywhere it mattered.

I have had to give a few of them a bo11ocking (another good old engineering term) with WD40 every few years!

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Cables should be run vertically in walls but that does not always happen. It’s worth turning off all power at the distribution board and using a battery-operated hammer drill, even if you have to borrow one. You might still drill a cable but at least it will avoid watching a brief fireworks display.

Decent cable detectors may be available but those I have used were not to be trusted.

Cheap cable detectors often don’t penetrate far. My son hit a water pipe in his bathroom despite using a detector – it was in the wall behind plasterboard on battens.

The rust on your drill bit might well have been vapourised copper deposited when you hit the live conductor.

It is wise to isolate the lights and sockets at the distribution board before drilling or putting in a picture hook nail. However you will not know whether you have damaged any wiring until you turn the power back on – and not even then if it has not shorted. So your picture hook might end up live.

Best to invest in a decent detector as it could save a lot of money. Something Which? could do test on perhaps? Seems simple enough to test. One list on line here:https://www.tektouch.net/tools/best-live-cable-detectors.php#BosGMS1

I’d forgotten my one of those – putting in a panel pin as a picture hook. The lights went out. Almost uneventful though. The wire was in a shallow metal conduit – and it just popped the earth leakage trip. I am guessing I hit the neutral or (unlive) switched live. When I took the panel pin out I could see nothing of any significance on it, and when I reset the trip it stayed fired. I deduced that the worst I had was a tiny hole of no consequence through two insulator sleeves inside a conduit. That was three houses ago and I expect it is still working!

Short circuiting the Earth and Neutral will trip the RCD even if the power is switched off. I was reminded of this last year when installing additional lighting in my garage/workshop. This seems likely if there were no sparks and the panel pin was undamaged.

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Of course. In my case the reason I did not even have a tingle was that I did not touch the wires. It was about 40 years ago and made me more careful Since then I have discovered several neon testers that have either failed or not been reliable.

A good test for a socket is a portable lamp. Best to have RCCD protection but I’d never rely on it; physical disconnection is best, like removing the fuse, as wavechange did, or switching off the MCB. And check. You are still trusting whoever wired the socket connected line and neutral properly at the board. If in doubt use the main switch.

After my incident I made a home-made socket tester that sockets are wired correctly. When I rented a flat it alerted me to the fact that there was no Earth connection on the socket for the electric fire in the lounge. I now use a Martindale tester because it gives an indication of whether the Earth connection is inadequate without tripping the RCD:

Credit: Martindale

I believe that similar testers that check Earth impedance are now available from other manufacturers. Testing with socket with a lamp won’t show if L and N have been connected the wrong way round or if there is a satisfactory Earth connection. Extension cables often have poor Earth connections and I’ve found two that were cross-wired L to N.

That is far better than the simple neon one I carry – where a wet string between neutral and earth would likely be sufficient to get a “good” result!

That’s the problem. My home-made socket tester and most of the ones on sale are little better if there is a poor Earth. I once gave one of these socket testers as a Christmas present to a DIY enthusiast who had (almost) everything.

I’ve been wondering how such a device would work without causing an RCD to trip. I think if I were to design one it would have to have some intelligent circuitry and a couple of GTO thyristors to add a high current (well relatively, probably under an amp) pulse up the earth lead for only a few microseconds from rectified mains to avoid tripping the trip and measuring the delta V using sample and holds – probably once every few seconds. In fact by doing that alternately using the Live as a “reference terminal”, you could assess the relative impedance of the N and E and so determine whether they were swapped over. Patentable?

I wondered the same, Roger, but it does work, at least with a standard 30mA RCD. It sometimes trips a 10mA RCD, as I discovered when using an outdoor power socket.

You won’t be able to patent your ideas because they have now been published. 🙁 I would not mind taking one apart and seeing what is inside. There was a recall on the EZ150 because some had not been properly glued together, but neither of mine came apart.

I am sure by now the market for this is nailed – but I did record – and have witnessed – the basic claim in my book before writing it on here – so I likely still would be able to get it patented…

Unfortunately, until you have filed a claim for consideration by a Patent Office, prior disclosure will invalidate it in most countries – including the UK and most of Europe. Some countries give grace periods of up to 12 months.
http://www.hindles.co.uk/documents/Disclosures%20of%20Your%20Invention%20-%20FAQs.pdf

Malcolm has beaten me, but I was asked to temporarily withdraw a journal article prior to publication because a patent chap at the company I was working with told me that it would invalidate the patent.

I’m not suggesting that a plug-in tester is a substitute for a proper tester, Duncan. Few DIY users have equipment to test Earth-loop impedance. I used to borrow a PAT tester from work, mainly to check earthed products such as kettles. Now I use an ancient Metrohm that measures to less than 0.05 ohms.

These testers are good to establish earth impedance of appliances, but unless you can connect to “real” earth with a second probe, how do you tell the impedance of your earth house wiring? Answer: inject a current into it from somewhere and measure the voltage change when you do so – qv my thought above needing no additional connection to real earth.
Refinement – would need a zero crossing detector and do the few µs current pulse and control measurements at the same point in each mains cycle. Still think it’s worth a play. Might even knock one up in the winter.

At the end of my first year at university a friend of my father found me a job with a small company that repaired and calibrated electrical/electronic test equipment including line earth impedance testers. I remember the boss explaining this and me installing a test facility of known impedance to check calibration. I was paid £5 a week to play with all sorts of fancy test equipment and would gladly have paid more for the experience.

We might be off the topic of DIY disasters but I’m certainly interested in your ideas.

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I really think it may have legs having thought about it from cold after a snooze.
For PME and across the pond, yes a separate earth reference would be needed – but not for UK if we can (effectively) use Live when crossing zero as a DC reference.
And it’s well on topic if I choose the wrong thyristor – a DIY disaster in the making lol

I do struggle to understand the merits of different earthing systems. I assume that having a low impedance is less important when an RCD is present. Having said that, a higher than expected reading should be investigated because a dodgy connection could fail.

I like the humour in your final sentence, Roger.

One of my very first projects at work in 1978 – I forget the exact details – but it involved a very low current/low voltage feed from rectified mains to do something for a short whle. This predated VFETS of course. I rigged up a simple circuit – all ratings thoroughly checked on the pass transistor…. BANG – out went a few fuses.
That was my baptism of fire into the safe operating area of bipolar transistors in conduction!

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I do enjoy the discussion of electronics though my soldering iron is not often wielded these days. I wonder if our non-technical readers might think a bipolar transistor might need treatment for depression.

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It may need a shot of lithium, or failing that. sodium valproate Wavechange 🙂

I know, Beryl. One of my friends at university worked with people with serious problems. Our bipolar transistors will respond to a lithium-ion battery, if it’s corrected the right way round.